Fluorescent Gold Nanoparticles: Synthesis of Composite Materials of Two‐Component Disulfide Gels and Gold Nanoparticles

Pseudoenantiomeric ethynylhelicene oligomers containing a disulfide group formed two‐component gels, which showed different solvent properties from gels without the disulfide group. The disulfide gels reacted with gold nanoparticles, and the resulting organic–inorganic composite materials exhibited fluorescence emission between 600–800 nm, along with emission from the oligomers at 450 nm. The disulfide gels and isolated gold nanoparticles loaded with the oligomers did not show the former emission. The 600–800 nm emission reversibly disappeared upon sol formation with heating, which was accompanied by an enhancement of the emission at 450 nm. The novel emission was also observed in the solid state.     

Performance of the High Resolution,Multi-collector Helix MC <Emphasis Type="Italic">Plus</Emphasis> Noble Gas Mass Spectrometer at the Australian National University

Performance of the Helix MC Plus noble gas mass spectrometer installed at the Australian National University (ANU) is reported. Results for sensitivity, mass discrimination and their linearity against partial pressure of noble gases, and mass resolution of the mass spectrometer are presented, and the results are compared with those of conventional noble gas mass spectrometers. The application of the five detectors on the Helix MC Plus in measuring various noble gas isotopes in multi-collector modes and the integration of the software drivers of peripheral hardware devices into the controlling program Qtegra of the mass spectrometer are discussed. High mass resolution (>1800) and mass resolving power (>8000) make this mass spectrometer unique in noble gas cosmo-geochemistry. It provides the capability to measure isobaric interference-free noble gas isotopes in multi-collector mode, significantly improves the accuracy to determine isotopic ratios, and greatly increases the efficiency of data acquisition.

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Development of human serum certified reference material for quantification of polychlorinated biphenyls

Human serum certified reference material (CRM), NMIJ CRM 7407-a, for the analysis of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) was developed by the National Metrology Institute of Japan. A pool of commercially available human serum was used as a raw material of the CRM. This sample is in the form of a liquid comprising approximately 4 g stored in a cryogenic polypropylene vial. Homogeneity assessment was performed, and the material was homogeneous enough for PCB 118, PCB 138, PCB 153, and PCB 194: the relative uncertainties due to inhomogeneity were 2.5–10.5%. The results obtained from the stability assessment indicated that the target PCBs were stable: the relative uncertainties due to instability were 0–14.7%. The certification was carried out using two different types of GC columns for each target PCB to avoid interferences on GC separation; the certified values of the target PCBs (PCB 118, PCB 138, PCB 153, and PCB 194) were 9.7–129.8 ng/kg. This is the first frozen human serum CRM in which PCBs were determined by isotope dilution mass spectrometry.     

Regulation of saccharide binding with basic poly(ethynylpyridine)s by H+-induced helix formation

A basic host polymer exhibiting pH-regulatable saccharide recognition has been investigated. Poly(m-ethynylpyridine) bearing dialkylamino groups forms helical complexes with saccharides to show induced circular dichroism (ICD). When trifluoroacetic acid was titrated on these complexes, the ICD was gradually enhanced until the amount of the acid reached ca. 0.5 molar equivalence versus the pyridine rings in the polymer, and further addition of the acid suppressed the ICD. The proper addition of the acid also increased the binding constants between the polymer and saccharides. These findings would be due to stabilization of the helical structure consisting of cisoid conformations for each of the adjacent pyridine pairs, which were caused by half-protonation of the pyridine rings. Computational analyses indicated that the pyridinium-pyridine dimeric structure prefers its cisoid conformation to its transoid one.